In May 2004 Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakhsa was appointed as a Member of Parliament to represent the ruling Party the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and was offered the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs which he turned down.
Later he continued as the only Member of Parliament on the Government side, without a portfolio.
Following the 2005 presidential elections, President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed him as the Minister of State Banking Development but he resigned in April 2006 on a matter of policy. He also resigned from the post of the party organiser for the Maharagama electorate.
Thereafter, he was elected the Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) in July 2006 and presented the first report in January 2007, which led to serious controversies both locally and overseas. He gained publicity for highlighting corruption in the public sector. In 2007, LMD magazine named him “Sri Lankan” of the year.
In 2010, he was elected to Parliament from the Colombo District. In 2012, he was elected President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. During his tenure he led the Bar Association in support of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake during her impeachment. Following the 2015 Presidential election he was appointed Minister of Justice. In 2017, he was sacked by President Maithripala Sirisena at the request of the United National Party due to his views against privatisation and the interference of the judiciary by the Government.
He was appointed Minister of Higher Education and Cultural Affairs in May 2018. In 2018, with the onset of the Constitutional crisis, he was appointed to the new Cabinet of Ministers headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Minister of Education and Higher Education.
Q: The judiciary’s independence is frequently discussed. Has the judiciary’s independence been truly preserved?
The judiciary’s independence must exist. It should be said that the 2015 political upheaval had an impact on the judiciary’s independence. The removal of the former Chief Justice and politicians’ targeting of court judges are two examples.
That is why we brought the 19th Amendment to confirm the independence of the entire public service.
Q: The bulk of the inmates in the country’s jails are drug addicts. This situation is increasing each day. Is there a way to prevent this?
Yes, drug offenders account for half of all inmates in prison. We have taken a number of steps to rectify the situation.
This is the most serious issue we face as a country. A significant amount of public money must be spent on such inmates.
Q: Don’t you think that a more stable solution is needed for drug prevention?
We’ve already started working on it. The Ministry of Defence, the Police, and the Ministry of Justice have all taken steps to form a task force towards this end.
Q: Is there no methodology for rehabilitating such people through rehabilitation centres such as Kandakadu?
Those who arrive willingly are currently directed to Kandakadu. As a result, we drafted a bill for the Rehabilitation Authority. It’s been sent to the Supreme Court. It will be implemented as soon as possible. This is the way to act within a legal framework.
Q: It is a fashionable practice that inmates with authority opt to enter the prison hospital instead of the regular cells. Do such things happen under your ministry?
A similar crisis occurred some time ago. But that is not the case right now. A few days ago, several inmates who attempted to enter the hospital were turned away by doctors, who found out that they were not patients. I have directed that no one who is not a confirmed patient cannot be admitted to the prison hospital.
Q: Are you satisfied with the security given to prisoners?
The prison’s primary responsibility is to protect its inmates. There is a sizeable workforce in the prison for this purpose.
When a prisoner is admitted, we are unconcerned about the crime he committed or the punishment he received. Every inmate is treated equally. Security is at the top of the list.
Q: However, while cooking, an inmate at the Angunakolapelessa Prison fell into a pot of boiling chicken curry. Can you be satisfied with that safety?
Prison inmates are the ones who prepare the food. They volunteer for it. An inmate at the Agunakolapelessa Prison slipped and fell into a boiling curry and he sustained serious burns. He later unfortunately succumbed to his injuries while in hospital.
Q: Cell phones continue to be brought into the prisons. Why can’t there be a solution to this problem?
In 2015, an intelligence unit was formed to handle this issue. We have learned that some prison officials are also involved in this racket. If such officials are detected, they will face severe punishment.
Q: Not only phones but also drugs are smuggled into the prisons. This is a dangerous situation.
Yes, the situation is perilous. We are doing everything we can to resolve this situation.
Q: What do you think about prison officials engaging in these illegal practices?
Unlike before, nowadays there are people involved in various fraudulent activities.
They tend to do it in exchange for large sums of money with the connivance of certain prison officials. However, we will not pardon such officials.
Q: Has there been no attention to the social disaster caused by placing ordinary inmates with serious criminals?
We took over the anti-terrorist unit in “Boosa” and worked to detain serious criminals there. Now that problem is mostly solved.
Q: Following up on the behaviour of prisoners who have been released. Are you happy with it?
A significant number of inmates who have been released from prison are leading clean lives. However, the issue is with drug users. Many people abuse drugs. We appear to be growing accustomed to it. It’s a massive social disaster.
Q: A lot of money has to be spent on prison inmates each year?
Yes, we had to spend around Rs.720 per day for each prisoner about a year ago. That sum has now risen to Rs. 975.
Q: What is the total number of inmates in the country’s prisons?
Currently there is an estimated 25,300 inmates in the country’s prisons.
Q: Cases are piling up in courts, and each Minister promises that the situation will be resolved soon. What’s your take on this?
We did an in-depth survey on the backlog of cases. Accordingly, many steps were taken from the year 2015 and Mediation Boards were provided with more powers. The power to settle financial cases up to Rs. 250,000 was also transferred to the Mediation Boards.
About 50,000 cases in courts were reduced through these procedures.
Not only that, according to a notice given by the former Chief Justice, criminal cases and civil cases that were pending for over five years were heard and completed on a daily basis. As a result, we were able to finish many pending cases quickly.
Q: Land cases drag on for many years. Is there no solution to this problem?
We have worked to provide a solution to that issue in the North-Eastern Province. Mediation Boards were established for land cases, and that work is being done very well.
Q: You are talking about Mediation Boards. Are there any successful results through it?
Of course, in 2015, there was a 47 percent success in Mediation Board cases. Now that has increased to 70 percent.
Q: Some errant lawyers are involved in creating fake documents. What is the solution to this?
Yes, fraudulent deeds cannot be created without their help. This work is being done under a 150-year-old ordinance. We have worked to amend all those ordinances. In the coming days, many bills, including the Ordinance Bill and the Prevention of Fraud and Corruption Act, will be presented to the Parliament. It will not be easy to create fraudulent documents with this new Act.
Q: It can be seen that the cases in the commercial courts are also very similar.
So far, we have established four courts to prevent such incidents.
Q: In some cases, the police are accused of oppressing the public. Is that correct?
The police should change their attitude. We have informed the relevant senior police officer in this regard. The police should be closer to the people. Training courses should be created towards that end. We also provided Tamil Language training to 6,000 police officers in the North and the East.